The text below shows the responses to my questionnaire:
Q1. Do you enjoy the Superhero genre?
Lois – Yes.
Tijen – Yeah.
Kelli – Yes.
Emily – Yes.
Q2. How regularly do you watch superhero films?
Lois – When they come out but not normally again afterwards.
Tijen- On occasion.
Kelli – A lot.
Emily – Three times a month.
Q3. Do you read superhero comics?
Lois – Once or twice but im not an avid reader.
Tijen – Nope
Kelli – No
Emily – No
Q4. If you could, name some female superheroes
Lois – Black Widow, Wonder Woman, Hawk Girl, Storm, Phoenix, Mistique, Shadowcat, Bat Girl, Catwoman, Supergirl.
Tijen – Catwoman, Wonder Woman.
Kelli – Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Hitgirl, Storm, Black Widow, Shadowcat.
Emily – Wonder Woman, Mistique, Catwoman, Batgirl, Black Widow, Miss Marvel, Captain Marvel, Poison Ivy, Storm, Supergirl.
Q5. Do you feel that females are poorly or underrepresented in the genre?
Lois – I feel that women are primarily treated as secondary characters or plot devices in the genre.
Tijen – It implies that they believe in the traditional role for a woman.
Kelli – Yes, in that they are oversexualised and portrayed as manipulative too much.
Emily – They are underrepresented; usually its the man who saves the day.
Q6. Do you think that women are objectified too much in the genre?
Lois – Yes, they are treated as sex objects.
Tijen – Well we’re always being rescued so yeah.
Kelli – Yes.
Emily – i think they’re looked at more as sex objects or trophies. Women in the past havent been taken seriously.
Q7. Who is your favourite female superhero? Why?
Lois – Storm from X-Men; she has a cool voice and kicks ass.
Tijen – Never watched one with a main lady!
Kelli – Catwoman; because i like cats and she is sexy (oops, contradicted myself!)
Emily – My favourite is Catwoman because she is sly and mysterious.
Q8. Who is your favourite male superhero? Why?
Lois – Ironman because he is confident, funny and has a distinguished personality but can still wreck.
Tijen – Thor or Spider-man
Kelli – Spiderman because he is just a regular guy!
Emily – Black Panther. Its my favourite animal and was the name of a reform group for equality and freedom in my country.
Q9. What superpower would you like?
Lois – Abilities like Frozone from The Incredibles
Tijen – Mind Control
Kelli – Time manipulation (I could freeze the good points of life and stip the $&@% parts)
Emily – I would want teleportation, that way i could go anywhere in the blink of an eye.
What this information tells me is that my target audience watches superhero films but have only read one or two comics in their lives, they enjoy the genre but feel underrepresented by the lack of female protagonists, the inclusion of them as either secondary characters, plot points or props and the oversexualised personalities and character traits that they have in the genre.
WIth this in mind i will create a Superhero who can represent and take men head on physically through skill and not brute force, but retaining her feminine energy in combat through practical costume design, abilities that connote raw power and intelligence and superiority over those who cannot match her.